Jaguar Land Rover may leave UK in case of 'hard-Brexit'

Jaguar Land Rover said on Wednesday that a hard-Brexit could cause the company to curtail its operations in the UK, in a bid to avoid costs as high as £1.2bn a year.

The country’s largest car manufacturer joins a growing list of firms that have voiced concerns over the prospect of the UK crashing out of the EU without a trade agreement in place next March, with Airbus and Siemens having also gone public with their fears over the matter last week.

Ralf Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, said: "We urgently need greater certainty to continue to invest heavily in the UK and safeguard our suppliers, customers and 40,000 British-based employees."

Jaguar Land Rover’s parent company, Tata Motors, backed up the firm, stating that a Brexit which "increases bureaucracy, reduces productivity and competitiveness" would be "in no-one's interest".

The Indian parent company’s shares dropped to their lowest point in five years due to shareholder uncertainty over the future of Jaguar Land Rover, which contributed 77% of Tata’s revenue in the year ended 31 March.

Theresa May will meet with her cabinet on Friday to decide upon a final strategy for the EU exit negotiations, with the outcome critical to UK businesses.

"A bad Brexit deal would cost Jaguar Land Rover more than £1.2bn in profit each year. As a result, we would have to drastically adjust our spending profile; we have spent around £50bn in the UK in the past five years - with plans for a further £80bn more in the next five. This would be in jeopardy should we be faced with the wrong outcome."said Speth.